CH 167.1

Due to this chapter having 12k+ words, I decided to divide it into 4 parts…

The rise of the Shui Jing Gong was rapid and unstoppable, especially in the following five years when the people of the Cang Zhan Star witnessed too many miracles, all originating from the hands of the Shui Jing Gong.

In the first year of the Cang Zhan Star’s entry into the Era of Apocalypse, the Shui Jing Gong settled in the Cangyu Mountains. That same year, the Galactic Alliance stopped its annual deployment of simulators to the Cang Zhan Star.

In the second year of the Cang Zhan Star’s entry into the Era of Apocalypse, many bases led by various Mang Yas were the first to join the Shui Jing Gong, becoming its subsidiary bases under the management of the Shui Jing Gong. In the same year, the Galactic Alliance halted its collection of energy stones from the Cang Zhan Star. This decision was due not only to the excessive energy consumption of the retrieval system during the Era of Apocalypse but also because the number of energy stones recovered from the Cang Zhan Star had significantly decreased.

The Galactic Alliance didn’t delve into the reasons behind this decline. In their view, it was simply that the Era of Apocalypse on the Cang Zhan Star was even more severe than anticipated. A massive loss of population and rapid environmental deterioration had led to a reduced rate of energy stone extraction. When the energy stone recovery rate became unprofitable, there was no need to continue deploying space vessels for energy stone retrieval.

However, the people of the Galactic Alliance were unaware that in this year, the environmental conditions on the Cang Zhan Star were still far from ideal. The winter temperatures were extremely low, with a quarter of the global temperature hovering around minus one hundred degrees Celsius. During the summer, floods ravaged the planet, almost submerging the entire world. Compared to the first year, the situation had improved only marginally.

The reason for the decrease in the energy stone recovery rate was that the inhabitants of the Cang Zhan Star had realized that trading energy stones with the Shui Jing Gong could yield more resources, and they could even exchange for unexpected valuable items. Nobody on the planet was naïve. It was clear as day that the Galactic Alliance intended to abandon the Cang Zhan Star. Anyone with a hint of common sense knew who should receive the energy stones.

The third year of the Era of Apocalypse could be considered the year when the Galactic Alliance completely abandoned the Cang Zhan Star, but it was also the year when the Shui Jing Gong gained fame on the Cang Zhan Star. During this year, some names slowly began to spread on the Cang Zhan Star. The Shui Jing Gong was one of them, closely followed by terms like “planting points,” a Shui Jing Gong specialty, micro-farms and ranches, Gray Rat Company, simulator exchanges, contract devices for mutated creatures, and even rumors of more advanced systems.

Too many things that shouldn’t have appeared on this desolate planet came into existence one after another. Although some were still immature, they were enough to give those living in the Era of Apocalypse a glimmer of hope.

During this year’s summer, although floods still plagued the area, there was none of the unpreparedness of the previous year. The major bases had made preparations, constructing ships and stocking enough food. Even if they couldn’t find land, they were ready to survive on the water for three months.

The Shui Jing Gong’s residents were well-prepared for the summer, easily getting through both the rainy and dry seasons. The pace of greening the environment didn’t stop either. Every day, one could see ships of all sizes shuttling back and forth in the Cangyu Mountains. Regardless of their purpose, every departing ship was equipped with essential spirit wood saplings and seeds of spirit herbs and plants.

Occasionally, one or two Gray Rats could be seen accompanying the ships as planting guides, traveling to distant places to personally supervise planting work.

Of course, besides these ships traveling between bases, there was another category of smaller wooden boats. The prows of these small wooden boats were adorned with a uniform flag featuring a simple and cute illustration of a mutated rat, with the words “Gray Rats Company” beneath it.

Gray Rats Company, a rumored top-notch domestic service company. According to information from the bases in the Cangyu Mountains, Gray Rats Company had a partner, and the high probability was that this partner was the powerhouse of the Shui Jing Gong, Shu Shuishui. What? You don’t know Shu Shuishui? Well, he’s the guy who can sell a casually grilled grasshopper for an astronomical price, even when there’s a scarcity of supply!

Various rumors, after passing through multiple channels and transformations, became increasingly bizarre, filling many bases that were distant from the Cangyu Mountains with awe and curiosity at the same time.

Legend has it that Shu Shuishui, who was feared by all, was exceptionally busy this summer. The rapid development of the Shui Jing Gong had everyone who could move occupied with plenty of work. In a time when everyone was working tirelessly, Shu Shuishui naturally felt reluctant to be lazy.

One day, after finishing his daily teachings on cultivation, Shu Shuishui noticed that the mutated creatures had essentially undergone a rebirth and become true spiritual beasts. They were already powerful, and now they had finally taken the right path, with unlimited potential ahead. Shu Shuishui felt there was nothing more he could teach them. “From now on, your cultivation will depend on yourselves. We only have four more years, whether it’s creation or destruction, whether we become divine beasts or common beasts, it’s all in our hands.”

If Cang Zhan Star could survive this calamity of the End Times, without a doubt, it would become the new center of the world. It would be a hopeful gem, shining in the chaotic space-time, gradually awakening the Canghai and Xian Ge once more. At that time, as one of the creators, all the surviving lives would become legends of the future, just like Shu Shuishui had once heard from Shu Bao about Nüwa.

It may sound unreachable, but they were living in such an era, an era of creating miracles and myths.

Among the mutated creatures, there were already some who could speak human language. Plus, after forming contracts with humans, their thinking and common knowledge were subtly influencing them. The awakening of their intelligence was even faster than that of spiritual beasts on the Cultivation Continent.

“Shui Shui, thank you for showing us a broader world,” said a mutated viper, its massive body making it look like a python. Its signature triangular head and patterned skin indicated that its combat prowess far exceeded that of a python.

The hair on Shu Shuishui’s body stood on end unconsciously, though others couldn’t tell. After all, Shu Shuishui still maintained that calm expression. He even reached out to pat the giant viper’s head. “Mr. Viper, no need to be so polite. We’re all friends here.”

The viper’s naturally eerie vertical pupils seemed to display a hint of a smile. “Actually, I’ve always liked rats, and please thank your friend, Shu Bao.”

Shu Shuishui nodded, fully believing the viper’s words. After all, rats were the natural prey of snakes; of course, they would like them. “I’ll tell Gu Gu when I get back.” He also decided that he wouldn’t wash his hands today after patting the viper’s head. After all, it was the hand that had touched a viper’s head, and he needed to admire it for a while.

The viper humanely nodded and then bid farewell to Shu Shuishui, sliding into the dense jungle. The other mutated creatures gradually dispersed as well. Mutated creatures didn’t have the same human social graces, so in the blink of an eye, only Bai Ye and Shu Shuishui were left.

Bai Ye smiled and said, “They say that Shui Shui pays particular attention to Mr. Viper.”

“Why do they say that?” Shu Shuishui asked somewhat unexpectedly. After all, no matter how you looked at it, he was a dormouse.

Bai Ye explained, “Because every time Mr. Viper speaks, Shui Shui’s attention is completely focused on him, very seriously. Other people don’t receive such treatment.”

Shu Shuishui said: “…” Well, if others were cats or snakes, his attention would probably be equally focused. It was a survival instinct, purely a conditioned reflex.

“Why is Mr. Viper called ‘Mr. Viper’?” Shu Shuishui didn’t take this matter to heart, as it wasn’t easy to explain.

“Because he himself said he wants to become a doctor in the future. And the human he contracted with happened to be a doctor. Do you need a ride back?” Bai Ye refused anyone else who wanted to sit on its back, except for Shu Shuishui. However, Shu Shuishui only occasionally jumped onto the white deer’s antlers when he was in dormouse form, using the complex antlers as a climbing structure. He never sat on the white deer’s back in human form.

“No, thanks. I’m a bit heavy when I’m in human form. After all, I’m quite tall.” Shu Shuishui politely declined.

Bai Ye’s eyes held a faint smile. “Indeed, Shuishui is quite tall in human form.”

Satisfied, Shu Shuishui chatted with Bai Ye on the way back to the Shui Jing Gong base. “By the way, Mr. Viper seems to also be called ‘Five-step Snake,’ right? Will people come to him for shots in the future…”

Shu Shuishui had some doubts about a viper’s aspiration to become a doctor.

Bai Ye, on the other hand, was quite optimistic about it. “It’s fine. Mr. Viper has taken on an assistant, the hedgehog who gave you an apple.”

Shu Shuishui: “…” This assistant arrangement seemed quite reasonable. They could pluck out a quill when needed.

The conversation between the dormouse and the deer was very casual. After all, everyone had become quite familiar with each other, and the gentle nature of the white deer helped it integrate into the Shui Jing Gong quickly. The mutated creatures were also influenced by the white deer, and with many of them forming contracts with the people of the Shui Jing Gong, their relationship had become very harmonious in less than two years. Inside the Shui Jing Gong base, you could often see mutated creatures helping with construction or transporting supplies.

After Shu Shuishui finished his teaching session with the mutated creatures, which was quite an achievement, he returned to the base and happily headed straight to his own ranch. Today, Gu Langu had gone out to sea with some others. They had discovered a large group of mutated crocodiles in the southwest, and quite a few people had lost their lives there.

This matter didn’t originally require Gu Langu to personally handle it, but recently, Gu Langu happened to be at a bottleneck in his advancement. Just as summer had arrived this year, Xie Feng had advanced. Being the first person in Cang Zhan Star to reach the Foundation Establishment stage, Xie Feng’s advancement had been smooth, with hardly any obstacles.

Moreover, it was nighttime when this incident occurred. So when a large mass of dark clouds gathered overhead, accompanied by flashing lightning, the people only realized there was a problem then.

Xie Feng also recalled what Shu Shuishui had mentioned about the thunder tribulation, but before this, no one had ever experienced it. Everyone was momentarily at a loss.

When Xie Feng arrived at an open space in the mountains alone, the first heavenly tribulation descended. The thunderous power made the onlookers turn pale; they couldn’t imagine anyone surviving under such a thunderstorm.

Even Xie Feng himself thought he was doomed, but he instinctively used his internal energy to resist. After the first heavenly tribulation passed, Xie Feng opened his eyes, realizing he was still alive. Just as he was in a daze, Shu Shuishui’s voice came from afar, and at the same time, an object landed with a ‘thud’ on Xie Feng’s face.

The thunder roared overhead, the fierce wind howled around, and Xie Feng could only hear Shu Shuishui’s voice but couldn’t make out what he was saying clearly. This, coupled with facing such a situation for the first time, naturally caused some panic. Nevertheless, he conscientiously began operating the item that Shu Shuishui had thrown to him.

When that heart-pounding tribulation ended, everyone in the vicinity felt somewhat dazed. The voltage of the lightning reached tens of billions or even hundreds of billions of volts, and the momentary heat equaled the temperature of a star’s surface. So how did Xie Feng manage to survive under such circumstances? It was an unsolvable puzzle that defied scientific explanation.

Xie Feng himself was quite bewildered. The spiritual item in his hand was an armor given by Shu Shuishui. Even though he still looked quite disheveled after nine heavenly tribulations, he hadn’t suffered any substantial injuries.

Was this what cultivation was about? Was this the journey they were embarking on? Fear? To be honest, there was some fear, but it was overshadowed by excitement and eagerness!

After that day, everyone in the Shui Jing Gong became more focused on cultivation. They clearly felt that Xie Feng had changed, undergoing a qualitative transformation from within and without. It was a natural gap on two different levels.

Under this kind of stimulation, two more individuals from the Shui Jing Gong entered the Foundation Establishment stage with Shu Shuishui’s help. With Shu Shuishui’s assistance, these two also safely passed their tribulations. However, Shu Shuishui began to realize that the crafting of spiritual items, elixirs, and similar practices needed to be on the agenda. This presented a challenge for him because while he was well-versed in arrays and talismans, he only had a theoretical understanding of alchemy and crafting.

Shu Shuishui tried twice and finally realized that these two skills had very strict requirements for innate talent and couldn’t be developed overnight. The usually versatile Shu Shuishui had finally hit a wall this time. The little dormouse withdrew into itself for two days and then discovered that Gu Langu crafted an item in one go and concocted top-grade elixirs in two attempts.

The little dormouse’s spirit instantly soared, becoming a hundred times more animated. It flaunted its newfound skills everywhere as if it were prouder and happier than Gu Langu himself.

Gu Langu was also delighted because he had another source of income, which truly pleased him.

Furthermore, Gu Langu and Shu Shuishui didn’t keep their techniques to themselves; they passed on their knowledge of alchemy and crafting to Xie Feng and Cheng Que, who then spread it further within the Shui Jing Gong. Conscious efforts were made to cultivate alchemists and artisans.

Now, as the rainy season neared its end, what surprised everyone was that Gu Langu, who had extremely high innate talent, hadn’t advanced yet. After all, at the beginning of their cultivation, Gu Langu and Xie Feng had the highest talent among them all. Xie Feng had already advanced for more than two months, but Gu Langu remained inactive. Some speculated whether this had to do with Gu Langu’s semi-mechanical nature, but these were just private speculations that they dared not voice to others.

Shu Shuishui was also somewhat surprised. Unlike others, he was well aware that Gu Langu possessed memories of cultivation, so there was no reason for his progress to be slower than Xie Feng’s. It made no sense that Gu Langu was stuck at the Foundation Establishment stage.

In his dormouse form, Shu Shuishui was within the mini ranch. Not far away, Cui Cui, who was grazing, immediately flew over to Shu Shuishui when it saw him and chirped happily. It landed on Shu Shuishui’s face and he caught it, giving it a couple of pats before releasing it. “Catch a couple of grasshoppers, and when Gu Gu comes back, we’ll use them to nourish him.”

Cui Cui blinked its round little eyes, then used its wings to pat its tiny chest, indicating that it would take care of it. It then flew away.

A moment later, there were two emaciated, nearly lifeless grasshoppers in front of Shu Shuishui. He sighed, realizing that there were such thin grasshoppers in his ranch. Without a doubt, it was Cui Cui’s doing, probably intending to feed them to Gu Langu.

Shu Shuishui found this situation quite troublesome. He couldn’t understand why Cui Cui and Gu Langu always clashed, especially Cui Cui. It couldn’t speak, and every argument ended with chirping, which it never won. Then it would get so frustrated that it stood alone by the window in a huff.

In the end, Shu Shuishui personally selected a few plump grasshoppers, intending to give himself and Gu Langu an extra meal in the evening.

Cui Cui chirped regretfully and used its claws to scratch at the pitifully thin grasshoppers, seemingly expressing its frustration that they weren’t up to par.

In the evening, the teams that had gone out one by one returned. Gu Langu also led his team back with a full haul of captured mutant crocodiles. They intended to keep them for future contracts, but these crocodiles hadn’t yet awakened their intelligence, so it would take quite some time to train them. As for the ones that had died, their bodies still had various useful parts.

Survival of the fittest is the most fundamental law of nature, a principle understood not only by intelligent mutant creatures but also by the most ordinary of animals like a rabbit. No one found fault with Gu Langu’s actions, and in fact, many were surprised that he hadn’t exterminated the entire group of crocodiles.

When they sat down at the dining table and saw Shu Shuishui, Gu Langu’s intimidating expression disappeared, replaced by another face that left everyone in awe, making them comment on Gu Langu’s double standards.